We don't know why, but for some reason Phantasy Star Online 2 was launched in Japan eight years ago - and the subsequently stayed in Asia. It has since been released on more formats beyond PC, but never in Europe and never in the US.
However, during Microsoft's E3-press conference last year, it was finally announced that Phantasy Star Online 2 is in fact coming to the West, and now things have started moving for real. Microsoft has shared a long post over on Xbox Wire where the company tells us how we can participate in the closed beta test that starts on February 7.
But unfortunately, it's not for everyone. First and foremost, it's only for Xbox Insiders, and you also have to live in Canada or the USA. Still, even if you can't participate, it is nice to know that it is finally about to be officially playable in our part of the world very soon indeed, even if we're not in the first wave of players.
Expect a full launch of the game later this spring.